Agawa Canyon Tour Train Station.<\/a><\/p>\nIn response to the recent announcement by Watco regarding the relocation of the Agawa Canyon Tour Train depot from the Canal District, we would like to take this opportunity to address the community.<\/p>\n
The Canal District has proudly supported Canadian National Railway (CN), Watco, and the Agawa Canyon Tour Train since its arrival at our Huron Street facility.<\/p>\n
From the outset, during discussions surrounding the transition of the rail line from Wisconsin Central to CN and ultimately to Watco, a key priority shared by the City of Sault Ste. Marie was ensuring the continuation of the Tour Train, recognizing its importance to the region\u2019s tourism and hospitality sector.<\/p>\n
As part of this vision, the depot was relocated from the Station Mall to the Canal District to enhance the overall visitor experience. The Canal District delivered a purpose-built facility, supported by complementary tourism amenities, contributing meaningfully to the growth and success of this attraction.<\/p>\n
Over the past five years, the Canal District has maintained a strong and collaborative working relationship with CN and Watco, supporting approximately 30,000 passengers annually.<\/p>\n
Throughout this time, there have been no operational issues or concerns. In the early years of operation, when challenges arose \u2014 the Canal District stepped in to support Watco and ensure a consistent and positive experience for passengers.<\/p>\n
The existing Watco lease, which expires on May 30 of this year, was structured as a three-year term with an automatic renewal, with increases tied solely to the Consumer Price Index. There were no rent increases beyond these agreed terms.<\/p>\n
Given this history, the Canal District was surprised by both Watco\u2019s decision and the position taken by the city.<\/p>\n
The Canal District was not provided with prior notice, nor were we included in any consultation or negotiation process leading to this outcome.<\/p>\n
Our facility continues to provide ample parking, clean and accessible amenities, and a safe, welcoming environment for visitors. In addition, the proposed Gateway Site expansion is designed to further enhance the overall tourism experience within the Canal District.<\/p>\n
While we respect that operational decisions will be made, it is important that any changes genuinely support and enhance the visitor experience.<\/p>\n
Based on the information currently available, it remains unclear how the proposed industrial location would improve upon the established Canal District site.<\/p>\n
The Canal District remains fully committed to supporting tourism and hospitality in Sault Ste. Marie.<\/p>\n
We are proud of the role we have played in the success of the Agawa Canyon Tour Train and will continue to serve our community and visitors with the same level of dedication.<\/p>\n
We would like to thank our partners, patrons, and the community for their continued support.<\/p>\n
Canal District Management<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Canal District says existing lease had a three-year term with an automatic renewal \u2013 with increases tied solely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[45,49,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-591376","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591376"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591376\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}